Newsroom // News Releases

June 08, 2005

WOCCU Engages Regulators in South America

Madison, WI - In recent weeks, at the request
of central bank and
credit union regulators in Brazil, Uruguay and
Paraguay, WOCCU provided these countries with
expertise on appropriate regulations for credit
unions.

At the Central Bank of Brazil's first
international microfinance conference, WOCCU shed
light on how to develop an enabling
legislative environment for credit unions, the
best practices for capital distribution, and
auditing standards in credit unions. Although in
absolute terms
Brazil has the largest credit union sector in
Latin America, it remains one of the smaller
movements in the region when evaluated as a
percentage of the population; weaknesses in
capital also persist in several of Brazil's
credit unions.

At a meeting with the president of the Central
Bank of Uruguay, Walter Cancela, and the
superintendent of Banks in Uruguay, Fernando
Barran, WOCCU discussed the Central Bank's
recently introduced restrictions on credit union
operations. As a result of concerns raised by
WOCCU, the Central Bank of Uraguay has delayed
the implementation of the restrictions and has
committed to reviewing and changing regulations
upon the presentation of evidence that otherwise
healthy credit unions are being restricted.

In Paraguay, a newly created regulator for the
financial and non-financial cooperative sector is
ramping up its activities. At the request of the
World Bank, the credit union sector and INCOOP,
the newly formed regulator for cooperatives,
WOCCU has been reviewing the new prudential
regulations for cooperatives in Paraguay. To
follow up on suggestions made this past February,
WOCCU met with the board and senior staff of
INCOOP to discuss WOCCU's concerns. Although
some progress has been made, WOCCU continues to
be concerned with the new regulations.

"Representing our members and engaging policy
makers with credible information on international
best practices is at the core of what WOCCU is
about," indicated Dave Grace, senior manager of
Association Services. "The central banks of
Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay understand the
potential that credit unions hold for improving
the accessibility and quality of financial
systems in their countries and hope to be able to
realize this potential," concluded Grace.

World Council of Credit Unions is the global trade association and development agency for credit unions. World Council promotes the sustainable development of credit unions and other financial cooperatives around the world to empower people through access to high quality and affordable financial services. World Council advocates on behalf of the global credit union system before international organizations and works with national governments to improve legislation and regulation. Its technical assistance programs introduce new tools and technologies to strengthen credit unions' financial performance and increase their outreach.

World Council has implemented more than 290 technical assistance programs in 71 countries. Worldwide, 57,000 credit unions in 103 countries serve 208 million people. Learn more about World Council's impact around the world at www.woccu.org.